You worked in Slovakia for seven months and quit. Or you had two employers at the same time. Or it was a student summer job. In each of these cases, the tax from your salary was withheld as if you were going to work all year – and the state most likely holds your overpayment. It will not return it by itself. You have to ask for it.
Next is the route. Where the overpayment comes from, which of the two refund mechanisms is yours, what dates were valid this year, when the money actually arrives, and what to do for those who have already left Slovakia.
Where the overpayment comes from if the employer calculated the tax
The employer withholds tax in advance, monthly. Each month, they deduct 1/12 of the tax-free part – nezdaniteľná časť základu dane (the part of income on which tax is not paid) – from your base. For 2025, this part is 5,753.79 euros, if the annual base did not exceed 25,426.27 euros. Divide by twelve – you get 479.48 euros per month. The system calculates as if you will work the full year. If you worked seven months – you used seven such parts, but you are entitled to the full annual amount. The difference is returned in cash.
Most often, overpayment occurs for people who:
Worked for less than a full year – started in spring, quit in autumn, were unemployed for several months, or on sick leave.
Had several employers – each calculates advances separately and does not see your annual picture.
Students after a summer job – two to three months of work in the summer almost never "use up" the annual tax-free part; we wrote about summer jobs in the article about summer jobs for students.
Parents who did not claim the tax bonus – the daňový bonus (tax bonus) for a child under 15 years old is 100 euros per month, for a child from 15 to 18 years old – 50 euros.
Married to an unemployed partner – the tax-free part for a spouse (for 2025 up to 5,260.61 euros) is not taken into account monthly at all, only after the end of the year.
Contributions to the III pillar are added here – up to 180 euros per year, and a bonus for paid mortgage interest: half of the amount paid, a maximum of 1,200 euros per year for contracts concluded after December 31, 2023, and 400 euros for older ones.
Ročné zúčtovanie or daňové priznanie – which of the two is yours?
There are two refund mechanisms, and usually the situation itself decides which one is yours. Ročné zúčtovanie (annual reconciliation) is done by the employer upon your written request: you do not fill out any declaration, the money simply comes with your salary. Daňové priznanie (tax return) you file yourself with the tax office. The first way is simpler, but it is only available to those who had taxable income only from employment from Slovak sources during the year. The second is always available – and it saves those who missed the deadline, changed countries, or had income from abroad.
What we compare | Ročné zúčtovanie | Daňové priznanie, type A |
|---|---|---|
Who calculates | Employer | You yourself |
Who it is suitable for | Income only from employment from Slovak sources | Those who missed the request, had income from abroad or business, have already left |
What to submit and where | Request on form ŽIA38v25 to any of your employers | Form DPFOAv25 to the tax office |
Deadline for 2025 | by February 16, 2026 | by March 31, 2026 |
What documents | Documents for benefits: birth certificate, school certificate, bank confirmation | The same plus copies of Potvrdenie o zdaniteľných príjmoch from all employers |
When is the money | With the salary for April | Within 40 days after the submission deadline |
Main pitfall | You can only ask one employer and only within the deadline | You must ask for the overpayment refund yourself in the last section of the form |
Details on filling out the tax return, the difference between types A and B, and examples are in the article about filing a daňové priznanie. And if you had a živnosť (sole trader), type A is not suitable for you in principle: there is a different form, advance payments, and a separate logic for expenses, which we write about in the text about živnosť for Ukrainians.
What dates were valid in 2026 and what to do if you missed them
The calendar for the 2025 tax year is almost entirely behind us, and this is not a reason to give up. Here's how it looked:
February 16, 2026 – the last day to ask your employer for a reconciliation. February 15 fell on a Sunday, so the deadline was moved to Monday.
March 10, 2026 – by this date, the employer had to issue a Potvrdenie o zdaniteľných príjmoch to those who did not request a reconciliation. A former employer issues it by February 10, if you requested it by February 5.
March 31, 2026 – filing the tax return and paying the tax, if you owe anything.
April 30, 2026 – the employer hands over the document on the completed reconciliation.
June 30, 2026 – a new deadline for those who extended the filing period by three months.
September 30, 2026 – the final deadline for those who had income from abroad and extended the deadline by six months. This is the only date from this list that is still ahead.
Now the main thing for those who filed nothing. The obligation to file a tax return for 2025 arises only if your taxable income exceeded 2,876.90 euros. If your income was lower, you did not violate anything – the deadline simply did not exist for you, and it is still beneficial to file a tax return: the tax office will return the withheld advances. If there was an obligation and no tax return – file as soon as possible, the tax office determines the penalty for late filing based on the circumstances and the duration of the delay.
Time is not unlimited, however. The right to assess additional tax expires five years from the end of the year in which the obligation to file a tax return arose, and with it, the possibility to reclaim the overpayment also disappears. For income in 2025, this deadline is the end of 2031; for older earnings, it is closer than it seems.
The next cycle is already marked on the calendar: for 2026, the request to the employer must be submitted by February 15, 2027, and the reconciliation itself will be done required attachment to the tax return.
Get the correct form. For the year 2025, it is type A, marked DPFOAv25. If all your income was from employment, you do not need the more complex type B.
Mark your status. If you no longer live in Slovakia, you are a daňovník s obmedzenou daňovou povinnosťou (taxpayer with limited tax liability) — a non-resident. There is a separate checkbox for this on the form and a line for the country of tax residency. The financial administration explains the difference between a resident and a non-resident in the section for foreigners.
Check what you are entitled to as a non-resident. The tax-free allowance for yourself is yours in any case. However, the allowance for a spouse, contributions to pension savings, and the tax bonus for a child are only available if Slovak income was at least 90% of all your income for the year.
Enter the account where you expect the money. If your foreign account has an IBAN format, the IBAN is enough. If the format is different, the form requires the account number, SWIFT/BIC, bank name, city, and country. The tax office sends amounts up to €15,000 by postal money order.
Send the package. You can submit the paper tax return at any tax office — your local office does not matter — or send it by mail. If you don't remember which office is yours, the search service can find it by city name.
Separately about the dočasné útočisko (temporary protection) status. The financial administration assumes that a person with temporary protection remains a tax resident of Ukraine, meaning they are a non-resident in Slovakia. However, residency is assessed individually, and if the center of vital interests changes, the conclusion may be different. This does not affect the right to get an overpayment back; it affects the list of benefits you can claim.
Reasons why money is not returned
The most costly mistake is silence. Then come four mistakes that happen regularly.
You applied for a tax recalculation with two employers. You can only ask one — but that one calculates the total taxable salary from all your employers for the year.
You forgot to attach proof of income. Copies of Potvrdenie o zdaniteľných príjmoch from all employers are a required attachment to the tax return; without them, it is incomplete.
You did not ask to get the overpayment back. It is not transferred automatically: there is a section on the form that is an application, and without it, the overpayment will simply remain in your tax account.
You provided an account that no longer exists. People close their Slovak account before leaving and list it on the tax return. The transfer fails, and the tax office sends letters to the address from the old application.
What else you can get back besides tax
Tax is not the only payment that is recalculated at the end of the year. Health insurance companies do their own annual recalculation of contributions. For 2025, insurance companies must report this by September 30, 2026, and for those who extended the tax return deadline, by October 31. This means most readers will receive this letter in the coming weeks. The insurance company returns overpayments within 45 days, and only if the amount is more than €4.99. This is a separate process: you do not need to submit applications for it; the insurance company calculates it automatically.
And one more thing that is often confused. Getting back overpaid tax from salary has nothing to do with Tax Free — the VAT refund for tourists. These are different funds, different forms, and different institutions.
Conclusion
An overpayment in Slovakia is not an exception but a typical result of how advance payments are calculated. The state knows about it, but it does not offer help first: everything depends on your application. If you are still working, put February 15, 2027, in your calendar and ask your employer for a recalculation. If you have already left, write to your former employer for a Potvrdenie o zdaniteľných príjmoch and submit your tax return by mail before the five-year deadline expires.
